Making A Fortune Through Hunting To Support My Wife - Chapter 27

The days flickered by, and Mid-Autumn Festival arrived.

Just as dawn broke, the chickens in the Xu family coop let out squawking cries of distress.

Xu Jing snatched up a large rooster that had been squaring off with her, tying its wings back and binding its feet with straw rope.

Beaming as she carried the large rooster out, Xu Jing bumped into Grandma Xu, who had come to let the chickens out. She arched an eyebrow and called out, “Grandma.”

Seeing the flapping rooster in her hand, a flicker of heartache flashed in Grandma Xu’s eyes, but she responded with a long face as usual.

Noticing Grandma Xu was still wearing her old clothes, Xu Jing asked another question: “Grandma, we’re going to the Song family. We’ll probably have the midday meal there and won’t be back. We have the donkey cart, so there’s no need to walk. Won’t you come along?”

“What would I go for? This old woman has hands and feet. I won’t go hungry for a single bite.”

“Alright then, you’ll have to make do for lunch. Tonight, Xiaoyu and I will come back and cook a sumptuous meal to honor you.” Xu Jing was grinning, always skilled at saying the right thing.

Grandma Xu gave a cold snort and went off to gather eggs.

Xu Jing was used to the old lady’s cold demeanor and didn’t mind. She gave a shout, fed the donkey, and harnessed the cart. Stepping out, she saw the young girl waiting for her in the courtyard.

It was obvious the girl had dressed up specially. Her thick, ink-black hair was held up by a silver hairpin, with a few playful strands falling by her ears. Her skin was fair, her hair dark, and her lips red. Her usually cool features were softened by the warmth of the autumn sun.

She stood there quietly, wearing a simple and elegant goose-yellow long dress. The dress was lightly cinched by a moon-white waistband embroidered with patterns, accentuating her slender waist. She exuded a refined, gentle grace, like rain falling on green stone steps from a time long past.

Seeing Xu Jing drive the donkey cart out, the person from the painting seemed to come to life. She raised her elegant brows, her eyes containing a smile: “Is Grandma going?”

Seeing a beautiful and bright young girl always puts one in a good mood.

Xu Jing also broke into a smile. “She doesn’t care for the exhaustion. It’ll just be the two of us. She told us to go and come back early.”

She arched an eyebrow and asked, “By the way, this outfit looks exceptionally good on you. Did you just make it?”

Hearing this, Song Yu instinctively reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded slightly.

“This money was well spent,” Xu Jing’s smile deepened as she hopped off the cart. “Is everything in our room? I’ll go move it to the cart, you get on first.”

“Everything is packed and ready. I’ll help you move it.”

Xu Jing knew she wasn’t the type to sit idle, so she didn’t refuse.

Two jars of clear wine, a box of pastries, half a bolt of cloth each for Song Yu’s parents, and, of course, the big rooster, by the standards of farming households, these were considered heavy gifts.

The cart cabin was no longer the original plain wooden one. Inside, many things had been added. There were small drawers Xu Jing had asked the village carpenter to install, containing water flasks and snacks.

The seats were covered with soft cushions stuffed with cotton. The space beneath the seats had been hollowed out to create hidden compartments for small tables and the like, while cloth curtains hung over the windows and door to block the wind.

When Song Yu was sewing the cushions, her heart ached at the amount of cotton Xu Jing was stuffing in, but she couldn’t stop her. Xu Jing insisted it was for “shock absorption.”

She didn’t know where Xu Jing got all these strange ideas. She even talked about having her make “plushies,” saying they could not only decorate the cart but also be sold.

Song Yu had been busy the last two days making clothes for herself and Xu Jing, so she hadn’t had time to make the plushies yet.

As she was lost in these thoughts, Xu Jing’s voice came from outside.

“Sit tight, here we go!”

The well-fed black donkey pulled the cart, its hooves hitting the ground with a rhythmic da-da sound.

Next door, the Zhang family’s gate was also wide open early in the morning. Old Lady Zhang had just finished the breakfast her daughter-in-law cooked and came out with a back basket and a sickle. Wiping her mouth, she saw Xu Jing driving the donkey cart and called out loudly.

“Oh, Jing’er, heading to the county town so early to shop? You really have too much silver.”

Everyone knew by now that Xu Jing had struck it rich going hunting in the mountains with Wang Hu and the others, even buying a donkey cart.

Old Lady Zhang wished her eldest son, Dafu, had followed Wang Hu to go hunting to earn her eight or ten taels to show his filial piety, so she could buy new clothes and take Grandma Xu down a peg.

For the past two days, the old sisters in the village had been talking about the Xu family’s affairs, making her eyes red with envy.

A donkey cart! How did the Xu family manage to buy a donkey cart?

Her words were practically dripping with sourness. Xu Jing didn’t care for Old Lady Zhang and responded flatly: “No, today is Mid-Autumn. I’m heading to my in-laws’.”

By the time she finished speaking, Xu Jing had already driven the cart past the Zhangs’ gate, leaving Old Lady Zhang with a mouthful of dust.

She spat twice: “Truly, having too much money makes one restless, going to the in-laws’ just for a festival.”

The Zhang family’s daughter-in-law, who was leading several children and also planning to return to her maternal home, had overheard the conversation and chimed in sourly.

“It really is true that comparing people only makes you angry. Some people ride a donkey cart to their maternal home, while we miserable souls can only use our two legs to trudge back, dragging kids along. When we get there, we’re still afraid the gifts are too thin and that the family will look down on us.”

The more Old Lady Zhang heard, the more unpleasant it tasted. She gave her daughter-in-law a sharp glare.

“If you’re worried about the gifts being thin, then don’t go back! If you don’t give anything, you won’t be looked down upon!”

“Mother…”

Qilitun was only about five or six li away from Dayue Village. Driving a donkey cart took about the time it takes for two sticks of incense to burn. Xu Jing wasn’t very experienced at driving, so she deliberately slowed down.

Compared to Dayue Village in the mountains, Qilitun was closer to Meihua Town and had a larger population, about fifty or sixty households and over seven hundred people. It was a legitimately large village, and even boasted a clan school established by the prominent Gao family.

The Gao family was a prestigious clan that had once produced a fourth rank official. Though they had long since declined, “a broken ship still has three pounds of nails,” and they hoped to return to their peak.

The Gao Clan School also accepted outside students. Some villages near Qilitun preferred sending their children there for primary education rather than to Meihua Town, it was closer and the tuition was cheaper than in the county town.

For example, Li Xiuyun from Dayue Village started his schooling at the Gao Clan School.

Of course, after the initial schooling, one still had to go to the county academies to take the imperial examinations.

When Xu Jing drove the donkey cart into Qilitun, the villagers were already busy in the fields.

The Xu family didn’t have much land and planted very little, so it wasn’t harvest season for them yet. However, most farming families with more land were already busy harvesting radishes, Chinese cabbage, sesame, and cotton.

Radishes and cabbage were sliced and dried to make dried vegetables or pickled for late autumn and winter.

Sesame was harvested and taken to the oil mill in town.

Cotton was picked and cleaned, either for sale or for winter clothing.

Donkey carts were a common sight in Qilitun, so Xu Jing’s cart didn’t stand out much. She arrived smoothly at the entrance of the Song family compound.

The Song family was much wealthier than the Xu family. Their courtyard was enclosed by stone walls and divided into inner and outer yards. The side rooms alone numbered seven or eight, and the main house was built entirely of blue bricks, spacious and bright.

Just as Xu Jing stopped the donkey cart at the Song family gate and glanced inside, she saw a boy of seven or eight years old scolding a girl of eight or nine.

When the boy saw Xu Jing’s donkey cart, he went scurrying into the inner courtyard.

As he ran, he shouted: “Grandma! There’s a donkey cart parked outside our house!”

The little girl, seeing him run off, seemed to recover. She appeared a bit shy, leading the two little ones behind her toward the inner yard.

At that moment, Song Yu lifted the curtain. At a glance, she saw her younger sister leading her nephew and niece.

She called out: “Xiaochuan, Dabao, Xiaoya.”

Hearing that familiar voice, Song Chuan turned around in disbelief and saw Song Yu’s familiar face.

A look of joy erupted on the young girl’s thin face. Ignoring the two little ones, she ran over happily: “Third Sister! Third Sister, you’re back!”

The two little ones were young and didn’t have great memories, after several months, they weren’t very familiar with their aunt anymore. They blinked their big eyes in confusion, staring blankly as their aunt ran toward the donkey cart.

Song Yu got down from the cart, caught the rushing little girl in her arms, and gave her a warm hug. She then gently stood her upright and rubbed her head.

“It’s me. Are Father and Mother home?”

The little girl pouted playfully. “They’re all here! Two days ago, Second Brother said you were coming for Mid-Autumn, and Father and Mother were so happy. This morning, they even told Second Brother to go to town to buy some meat.”

“Third Sister, Third Sister, did you miss me?”

The little girl was very clingy toward Song Yu, pulling at her and asking.

“I did. Our Chuan’er is so cute, how could Third Sister not miss you? I even brought jujube paste cakes and osmanthus cakes for you all. When we get inside, you can share some with Dabao and Xiaoya.”

The little girl’s eyes lit up at the mention of pastries, but she whispered: “Third Sister, pastries are expensive and cost a lot of money. Chuan’er is grown up, leave them for Dabao and Xiaoya.”

“There’s enough for everyone.” Song Yu rubbed Song Chuan’s head, her eyes full of indulgence.

Xu Jing got down carrying the pastries, clear wine, and the big rooster. Seeing Song Yu’s indulgent and gentle expression, she felt a strange, inexplicable prickle of jealousy.

“Chuan’er, you take Dabao and Xiaoya inside first. After A-Jing and I park the cart, we’ll come find Mother and the rest of you.”

Song Chuan nodded obediently and led the two little ones away.

At that moment, alerted by the boy, the Song family’s Second Aunt, the boy’s mother, Mrs. Sun came out cracking melon seeds.

Spitting out seed shells, she shouted: “What donkey cart? Who brought a donkey cart?”

Mrs. Sun loved a spectacle. As soon as her son, Song Qilang, shouted, she dropped her work and ran out to see.

“Second Aunt, happy Mid-Autumn.”

“Happy, happy…”

Mrs. Sun responded vaguely, her eyes practically glued to the items Xu Jing and Song Yu were carrying. A warm, enthusiastic smile squeezed onto her round face.

“Oh, it’s Xiao Yu! This is a surprise. You brought your spouse back? You’ve brought so many things! Come, let Second Aunt carry them for you.”

Faced with Mrs. Sun’s thick-skinned attempts to get a share, Song Yu was used to it. “It’s not much, no need to trouble you. We brought plenty of pastries, come and try some later.”

Mrs. Sun’s eyes brightened, her smile becoming even more sincere: “Oh, I knew I didn’t dote on you for nothing.”

“By the way, is there room to park the donkey cart? If not, I’ll have A-Jing tie it under that tree over there.”

“A donkey cart? My goodness, is this cart yours? I thought you rented it! Xiao Yu, you really are living the good life.”

“No need to tie it to a tree. We have a livestock shed. Just remove the door sill and have your spouse drive it in.”

Saying this, she called out again: “Wait a moment, I’ll get your Second Uncle to remove the door sill for you.”

“No need for Second Aunt to go, why bother Second Uncle? We can do it ourselves,” Xu Jing interjected with a smile. “I’m quite familiar with this kind of work.”

Mrs. Sun was surprised for a moment when she spoke, then laughed heartily: “Alright then. It’s just removing a sill, it’s easy to get your hands dirty. Second Aunt will get some water for you to wash up.”

While Xu Jing was driving the cart in, Song Mother, having heard the news from Song Chuan, came rushing out from the inner yard.

Seeing her daughter whom she hadn’t seen in months, Song Mother’s eyes immediately turned red.

“Mother!”

Song Yu hurried over to support the emotional Song Mother.

Song Mother grabbed Song Yu’s hand, looking her over carefully with tears in her eyes: “Aye, it’s good that you’re here. It’s good that you’re here.”

Then, as if remembering something, she looked left and right: “Didn’t Jing’er come back with you? Where is she?”

To tell the truth, since her daughter’s first return visit, she had regretted marrying her daughter into the Xu family. But the matter was settled, they were the parents who had agreed to the marriage.

She had harmed her Third Girl.

She truly hadn’t expected her daughter and son-in-law to visit for Mid-Autumn.

“A-Jing went to park the cart. Mother, look what I bought for you. Let’s talk inside.”

“Why buy things for me? I don’t need anything. You keep your money for yourself. Look at you, you’ve grown so thin…”